Worcester inspectors look for code violations on Union Hill

Sunday

Jul 28, 2013 at 6:00 AMJul 28, 2013 at 9:09 PM

By Thomas Caywood, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Some Union Hill residents who answered knocks on their doors Saturday seemed wary of the half-dozen city workers, including a police officer and a firefighter, standing on their doorsteps clutching clipboards and digital cameras.

But then city code inspector Francis X. Sena Jr. would launch into his practiced sales pitch, explaining that the team was just out in the neighborhood to document housing and fire code violations for tenants and to help steer landlords and homeowners to city grant programs for projects like lead abatement and asbestos removal.

It was the first of three planned code sweeps on Union Hill, a neighborhood that has been hard hit by foreclosures, crime and fires in recent years.

While the team noted code violations such as overgrown hedges and loose stair treads throughout the day, Mr. Sena said the purpose of the survey also was to establish a rapport with residents and get a better sense of what the neighborhood needs from city departments.

"It's sending a message that we care," he said.

Some residents invited the team in to look around. Others politely declined.

One older man lashed out angrily, complaining that the presence of an armed police officer among them was meant to intimidate struggling property owners.

"I tried my best to convey to him that it was necessary to have representatives from each department present, so we all have knowledge of what the neighborhood needs," Mr. Sena said. "We're trying to provide buoyancy to the neighborhood."

Most residents met the group with friendly indifference, curiosity or relief to find somebody willing to hear their complaints about trash-strewn vacant lots.

Wearing pink pajama bottoms, Sharon Cardwell stood on the porch of the Columbia Street three-decker where she rents an apartment and chatted with the city team for a few minutes. She told them the landlord, who lives in the building, kept up with routine maintenance and she had no complaints.

"I try to make sure the property looks nice. It makes the neighborhood look better, but it's hard when you have houses around that don't do anything," Ms. Cardwell said.

One woman approached the inspectors on the street to ask what they were doing. When Mr. Sena explained the purpose of the survey, she pointed to the next block.

"There's a house over on Harrison Street. Oh, my God," she said.

"We'll be going over there," Mr. Sena assured her.

The team moved from house to house for eight hours, taking note of overgrown yards and testing staircase railings for sturdiness as they went. Mr. Sena recorded problems on a form that had columns marked with headings such as "vacant," "unsecured," "trash" and "fire."

On a front porch partially consumed by encroaching landscaping, the inspectors looked around and discussed the situation.

"I'm calling it overgrowth and obstruction," Mr. Sena concluded, sweat beading on his brow under the afternoon sun.

They entered the building through the rear stairwell and found the owner in the third-floor apartment. She said the shrubs had gotten away from her with all the rain and heat lately. She pledged to take care of the problem.

When residents had complaints about unruly neighborhood teenagers or vandalism, Officer Bill Lee listened patiently to their concerns.

The inspectors spoke to homeowner James Capone at his front gate on Columbia Street for a few minutes. He was interested in a city grant to remove lead paint from the old house, which had been owned by his grandmother. As the team was moving on to the next house, he called out to them. He said a man who had just cut through his yard from Harrison Street pushed him when he asked the man to stay off his property.

Officer Lee walked down the street to speak to the man who Mr. Capone said had pushed him. The officer later said he kept his talk with the man low key and friendly to avoid prompting any kind of retaliation against Mr. Capone's house.

Firefighter Jeffrey A. Spring carried a long, wooden rod with which to reach up and push the test buttons on smoke detectors. In one apartment's kitchen, he found red and black wires dangling out of a hole in the ceiling where the smoke detector should have been.

Sanitary Inspector Huong Tran toted a ray gun-looking lead paint meter to check apartments where small children live.

James A. Brooks, a lead rehabilitation specialist, and Hung Q. Nguyen, a neighborhood development project assistant, represented the city's Executive Office of Economic Development on the team. They did outreach for city programs and served as the boots on the ground for the city's neighborhood services section.

By late afternoon, the team had worked its way through about three dozen properties, trooping single file up and down narrow three-decker steps and peering into basements looking for dangerous makeshift apartments without two means of egress.

A second city team was nearby working its way up Harrison Street doing the same.

The inspectors expect to return to check the remaining areas of Union Hill in September and October. Last year, they conducted seven neighborhood sweeps in which they visited 1,832 properties and found 1,119 code violations, according to city figures.

Contact reporter Thomas Caywood at tcaywood@telegram.com or follow him on Twitter @CaywoodTG